The Hitting Zone

We listened as he showed us another video of the same player hitting another pitch that's high. "See!? That's what I'm aiming for!"

Zeke frowned and spoke up first. "It's an option, but don't go chasing it."

"I know." Noah nodded. "This player doesn't do it all the time. It's only when he's been thrown a lot of low pitches and is expecting the next pitch to be high."

"I think it's fine." Rhys said. "You executed very well today and showed that your decision-making is maturing. With your speed, almost anything to the outfield could be a double."

Noah grinned. "Thanks, Rhys." He looked at me. "How was your game, Jake?"

"It was okay. Walk, single, homerun, then a fly out to left field." I answered. "We won 5-4."

"How many RBI's??"

I thought about it. "Four."

"Amazing! You did practically all the work." He grinned. "Did you leave anything for Landon?"

"Landon got two hits and two runs." I told him.

We talked about our games until we got back to the dormitory. Rhys and Zeke left us to help the other coaches and staff in the cafeteria. We cleaned up and packed up everything before going to the cafeteria for lunch.

A few players came down with their bags, saying their goodbyes as they headed to the cafeteria.

"You guys didn't bring your bags down?" Travis asked.

"Nah, we have to wait for Zeke and everything so we'll wait." Noah told him. He looked at his bags. "Are you leaving right away?"

Travis gave a small nod. "Right after lunch. Have to hit the road and beat the Friday rush hour traffic."

Inside the cafeteria, players and staff were either standing up or taking up table space. Someone had reserved a few tables for pizza and drinks. A bigger table had some of the staff passing out the goodie bags with the evaluation results.

I thought for sure Noah would want to get his evaluation sheet, but instead he said, "Let's go get some pizza first."

I looked at him.

He shrugged. "That evaluation doesn't mean much to me. I'm not the same player I was on Monday."

My lips twitched. "It's only been five days..."

"Yep!" He grinned. "And I feel like I've learned a lot. I can see why the twins like going to camps like these." He looked me in the eyes. "Don't you feel like you're a better player than on Monday?"

I hesitated.

"Come on." Noah nudged me. "Your fielding looked way smoother yesterday than during the evaluations. Chandler really demonstrated all kinds of drills for us, and you're going to say you're not a better player?"

"Well...I do think his drills helped." I admitted. "I feel a little more confident in fielding. And I know what to work on. It's just..."

"Thinking about your time with those minor leaguers?" Noah read my mind.

I nodded.

Noah waved his hand around. "That doesn't count. They weren't a part of the camp. That's just something Rhys took you to do to challenge you a little more."

"I feel challenged." I clenched my fists, and unclenched them. "You weren't there, but it was completely one-sided. I couldn't do anything. I felt like..."

"Like you suck?" Noah offered up.

I glared at him, but reluctantly nodded.

Noah laughed. "Don't dwell on it too much. There's an adjustment for every level. It doesn't help that you're playing at a lower level right now. It's what you're accustomed too. And before you talk about the cages, there's no variety in it besides speed."

I sighed.

Noah put an arm around my shoulders and guided me to the line for food. "I believe in you. You just need more experience against better batteries. Pitchers that are not only good, but can throw what the catcher wants. Then it becomes a mind game."

Noah and I talked about pitchers and catchers until it was our turn to grab food. We each got a plate full of pizza and paired it with a water bottle. We found a table in the corner, out of the way of all the hustle and bustle.

A few of the guys we knew came by for a few minutes at a time, saying their goodbyes and telling us to keep in touch over social media.

Adam was the only one to take the time to sit with us as he ate his own food. When Noah asked why he wasn't going to speak with any of the staff, he replied that he already did.

"I was one of the first to meet with Coach Leroy while you were still playing." He explained.

"What did he say?" Noah asked.

Adam shrugged, but revealed a small smile. "Nothing about recruiting, but he did say I had an excellent game. I might not get any interest from big time schools like this one, but..." He took a paper out of his small Stanford bag. "My evaluation wasn't half bad. Need to work on my speed, of course, but overall-" He grinned. "He said I could expect a few phone calls or emails these next few days."

"Impressive!" Noah commented, taking a look at his evaluation. "Don't write off the big schools just yet. You did play on team two today and if you did as good as you say, maybe by the time your season rolls around, a few division one schools might reach out."

Adam put his papers away. "I hope so. I'm not too picky about getting a scholarship, but playing for a D1 school is my dream." He took a bite out of his pizza. "I know you want to go pro after high school, Noah, but what about you, Jake?"

I shrugged. "Undecided."

Adam glanced around. "Any scouts approach you yet?"

I shook my head. "I haven't talked to anyone."

He blinked, surprised. "Really? That's odd. I thought everyone would want to speak with you."

"We are only sophomores." Noah pointed out. "You'll be a senior when school starts, right?"

Adam nodded. "One year to find a D1 program to accept me. Otherwise I'll find a D2 school with the best scholarship offer, close to home." He repeated what he had told us the first time we met him. "After this camp, I feel like I can do it. Just gotta improve speed."

"There's plenty of time to do it." Noah assured him. "Stop stressing. My brothers haven't picked a college yet. Heck, Zeke didn't make a decision until almost the last second. He was still visiting schools during our season."

Adam shook his head. "I'm not Zeke though." He started to laugh to himself. "I'm glad I never had to play against you guys. Especially in our first year of being in division three. You guys would probably walk all over us."

Noah laughed. "We still would. You better pray you don't run into us at a tournament or something. We still have Jake. Plus, my brothers that pitch are really good too. Your school wouldn't stand a chance against us, state champs."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Hey, show us some respect. We were too good for division four and that's why we could move up. I'm not the best player on my team, okay."

"Yea, but do you have a set of twins that have thrown perfect games?" Noah smirked.

"Can I swear?" Adam asked.

"And they aren't even our best pitcher." Noah added.

"Thankful you aren't in the same league." Adam sighed.